World No. 180 Russian upsets Alex Eala in Singapore Open

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Alex Eala’s Singapore Open campaign ended swiftly after she suffered a Round of 16 loss to world No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova of Russia, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, on Sept. 24, 2026, at OCBC Arena at The Kallang in Singapore.

It was a rare sight for Filipino tennis fans, as Eala’s last first-round exit came on Feb. 9, 2026, against Czech Tereza Valentova in the Round of 64 of the Qatar Open in Doha.

Signs of court rust immediately haunted Eala as her 18-day layoff from professional competition hindered her from making a quick, efficient start against Prozorova, squandering long rallies with unforced errors while failing to establish the tone due to her inconsistent baseline attacks.

Prozorova stunned Eala with an early break point followed by a service hold to race to a 3-1 lead, but the Filipina ace performed better under pressure, unleashing a demoralizing 4-0 run to reach set point, 5-3.

From an error-prone groundstroke display, Eala was able to regain her footing after a break point in the fourth game, en route to an unstoppable streak for a statement come-from-behind 1-0 lead.

Just when Eala thought that it would be another first-round routine, just like in her past tournaments, Prozorova got back on her feet and deployed more tactical variety that caught the 21-year-old Filipina off guard.

The Russian netter adjusted her point of attack from targeting the middle to moving Eala around, utilizing the deep corners that neutralized her forehand topspin.

Trailing 2-4 after Eala held serve, Prozorova found another gear in the seventh game after bagging a much-needed break point to equalize the second set at 4-all.

Prozorova reached set point first after holding another service game, but Eala countered with a hard-fought hold for another 5-all deadlock.

The turning point came in the 11th game after Prozorova broke Eala at the most crucial stretch to re-establish herself in the high-octane battle.

As the match progressed, Prozorova just seemed to always have an extra boost after spoiling Eala’s seven earned break points.

In the deciding third set, Eala broke the Russian only once and could only watch the laser-focused Prozorova outduel her in several thrilling baseline rallies.

Prozorova delivered the early exclamation point after reaching set point, 5-3, off a break in the seventh game. Eala held four break points and was on the verge of tying the game at 4-all, but the Russian’s resilience and timely elite shot-making propelled her to the clutch escape.

Needing only a point to pull off the upset, Prozorova got the job done with a forehand winner that kissed the line, claiming her biggest professional win since entering the WTA Tour in 2021.

Prozorova capped her massive win with 118 total points won, including four aces, seven break points and 54 points on the return.

On the other hand, Eala will make an early trip to Japan to prepare for her first match in the ongoing 20th Asian Games at Nagoya City Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.